The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of grapevine, Vitis vinifera L., which will hereinafter be denominated varietally as the ‘Valley Pearl’ grapevine, and, more particularly, to a grapevine which has fruit maturing for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately July 25 in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. The fruit has attractive white skin coloration at maturity with round shape and seedless berries.
The grapevine of the present invention originated from a hand-pollinated cross of ‘A60-42’ (unpatented) and ‘C77-79’ (unpatented) made in 1996 in Fresno Calif. The female was ‘A60-42’, a seedless, white-fruited grapevine with reflex anthers in the flower, round berries with firm flesh and good skin, and slight muscat flavor. The fruit of the ‘A60-42’ ripen about four weeks after the instant variety. The pollen parent was ‘C77-79’ a seedless, white fruited grape with medium size, round to ovate berries with medium skin and medium firm flesh. The fruit of the ‘C77-79’ grapevine ripen two weeks after the variety of the subject invention. Both of the parents of the instant cultivar are hybrids of the grapevine genus and species Vitis vinifera L.
The 494 aborted seeds resulting from this controlled hybridization were developed further through in vitro tissue culture and germinated in the laboratory during the fall of 1996. The resulting seedling population totaled 37 individual plants. All seedlings were planted in the spring of 1997 in a vineyard at in Fresno, Calif. The seedlings fruited in the summer of 1999 and one, the grapevine of the present invention, was designated as ‘A85-40’ and selected for its attractive early ripening, very large, white seedless berries, and good fruit quality.
In 2000, the grapevine of the subject invention was propagated asexually by rooting hardwood cuttings at Fresno, Calif. and a test planting of two grapevines of the subject invention was established in Fresno, Calif. Subsequently in 2001 a larger test planting of 24 vines was established with rooted hardwood cuttings of the instant invention. The instant cultivar rooted readily from hardwood cuttings. All grapevines of the new variety planted from hardwood cutting propagation, fruited in the third season of growth after planting. All propagules, or resulting plants, of the present invention have been observed to be true to type in that all asexual reproduced grapevines of the variety possessed the characteristics identical to those of the originally discovered grapevine.